North Carolina enacted the nation's first state law regulating disposal of coal ash. The General Assembly considered the legislation after a pipe ruptured in February at a coal ash basin near Duke Energy's generating plant in Rockingham County, resulting in coal ash spilling into the Dan River. Electric cooperatives have been engaged in this discussion because a portion of the electricity they supply comes from wholesale power agreements with Duke Energy and other providers.

A riparian buffer is a strip of vegetation along a streambank that helps to protect water and land resources. This article discusses the history of land use and conservation in North Carolina. Also discussed is the importance of buffers in protecting waterways from pollution and sedimentation, and how landowners can plant or maintain a buffer.

In western and mid-North Carolina, generations of families have been making livermush, a mixture of ground hog meat and liver, spices and cornmeal. Several suppliers are Mack's Livermush and Meats in Shelby, Jenkins Foods in Shelby, Neese's Country Sausage in Greensboro, and Hunter's in Marion. The owners of these stores discuss their family recipes and the process of making livermush.

North Carolina electric cooperatives are testing various ways to safely integrate new excess power into the grid, including battery storage and community solar systems. Community solar may open a new opportunity, offering backyard solar at a reasonable cost for consumers who may not have a site suited for solar.